1970 Oklahoma Sooners football team

1970 Oklahoma Sooners football
Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, T 24–24 vs. Alabama
Conference	Big Eight Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 15
AP	No. 20
Record	7–4–1 (5–2 Big 8)
Head coach	Chuck Fairbanks (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Barry Switzer (5th season)
Offensive scheme	I formation (first 3 games) Wishbone (final 9 games)
Defensive coordinator	Larry Lacewell (1st season)
Captains	Steve Casteel Monty Johnson
Home stadium	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium

1970 Big Eight Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Nebraska $	7	–	0	–	0			11	–	0	–	1
No. 20 Oklahoma	5	–	2	–	0			7	–	4	–	1
Kansas State	5	–	2	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Missouri	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Colorado	3	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Kansas	2	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Oklahoma State	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Iowa State	1	–	6	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1970 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the 1970 NCAA University Division football season, the 76th season of Sooner football. The team was led by head coach Chuck Fairbanks in his fourth season as the OU head coach. They played their home games at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma. They were a member of the Big Eight Conference.

Conference play began at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado on October 17, with a win over the Colorado Buffaloes, and ended on November 28 at home in Norman with a win over Oklahoma State in the annual Bedlam Series. The Sooners lost their second conference game to Kansas State; the Wildcats' next victory in the series did not occur until 1993.

Following a loss in their third game to Oregon State, the Sooners installed the wishbone offense during the open week prior to the Red River Shootout against Texas. The Sooners ran the wishbone continuously, save for a switch to the I formation in 1982 and 1983, until the early 1990s.

After finishing the regular season with a record of 7–4 (5–2 in Big 8 play), the Sooners were invited to play in the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, where they tied the Alabama Crimson Tide, 24–24.

Following the season, John Watson was selected in the seventh round of the 1971 NFL draft, and Steve Casteel was chosen in the 10th.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12	at SMU*	No. T–20	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX		W 28–11	51,909
September 19	Wisconsin*	No. 18	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		W 21–7	58,100
September 26	Oregon State*	No. 14	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		L 14–23	54,700
October 10	vs. No. 2 Texas*		Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Red River Shootout)	ABC	L 9–41	71,938
October 17	at No. 13 Colorado		Folsom Field Boulder, CO		W 23–15	47,700
October 24	Kansas State		Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		L 14–19	60,800
October 31	at Iowa State		Clyde Williams Field Ames, IA		W 29–28	26,672
November 7	Missouri		Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK (rivalry)		W 28–13	54,750
November 14	at Kansas		Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS		W 28–24	36,820
November 21	at No. 3 Nebraska		Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry)		L 21–28	67,392
November 28	Oklahoma State		Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK (Bedlam Series)		W 66–6	60,300
December 31	vs. Alabama*	No. 24	Houston Astrodome Houston, TX (Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl)		T 24–24	53,822	[1]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[2]

Rankings

See also: 1970 NCAA University Division football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked т = Tied with team above or below

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Final
AP	20 т	18	14	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	20	20	20 т

Roster

1970 Oklahoma Sooners football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class HB 35 Roy Bell Jr FB 17 Leon Crosswhite So OE 82 Al Chandler So QB 11 Jack Mildren Jr SE 83 Greg Pruitt So QB 15 Dave Robertson So OT 71 Nelson Todd Jr OT 76 John Watson Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 43 Steve Aycock Jr WB 37 Gary Jamar Sr S 25 Monty Johnson Sr DT 99 John Nicholson Sr DHB 19 Geoffrey Nordgren Jr DHB 18 Steve O'Shaughnessy Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Chuck Fairbanks Coordinators/assistant coaches Jim Dickey (DB) Galen Hall (WR) Warren Harper (LB) Gene Hochevar Jimmy Johnson (DL) Larry Lacewell (DC) Bill Michael (OL) Barry Switzer (OC) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

NFL draft

The following players were selected into the 1971 NFL draft following the season.^[3]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL team
7	179	John Watson	Tackle	San Francisco 49ers
10	258	Steve Casteel	Linebacker	Cleveland Browns
17	427	Monty Johnson	Defensive back	Green Bay Packers

References

1. Darling, Ed (January 1, 1971). "Tide–Sooner deadlock some kind of game". The Tuscaloosa News. p. 11. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
2. 1970 OU Football Season Schedule – SoonerStats – Historical scores, records, and stats for Oklahoma Sooners football, basketball, baseball, and softball
3. "1971 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.